


a long-stemmed rose (the dice are loaded)

by AlexSeanchai



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting, Identity Reveal, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plausible Deniability, Podfic Welcome, Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Post-Season/Series 03, Racism, Romantic Angst, sitting these two clowns down to talk about their feelings, wait no not that thing the other thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21511618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexSeanchai/pseuds/AlexSeanchai
Summary: Most Parisians try to restrain emotions, so they won't be akumatized. Some failure is inevitable, but Ladybug always rights everything; while an akuma rages, it is safe for the rest of Paris tofeel.(How much does Chat Noir hate that Ladybug isrightabout not trusting one another or their allies with secrets like theirs?)Ladybug needs Chat Noir to be her friend and partner first and foremost. Since Marinette barely wants to be Adrien's friend, he won't try to be anything more.("Quit monkeying around, Kim." "Hold your horses, Max." "Nino, your house is small enough you could wear it as a backpack.")Adrien needs Marinette to be his friend before anything else—instead of anything else. Chat Noir knows all about sacrificing what one wants for what their city needs, not that Ladybug was ever in love with him anyway.("If I found out who Ladybug is, she would skin me alive. Three different ways, just for variety. I am not that curious, Chloé.")As long as they keep their hearts buried and their secrets silent, they will keep their city safe. Right?("I don't get to feel things, Chaton. I can't afford that luxury.")—Right?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 27
Kudos: 295
Collections: The Leonard Cohen Title Challenge (Any Freaking Song but "Hallelujah")





	a long-stemmed rose (the dice are loaded)

It didn't seem like much to anyone outside Ladybug's circle.

Probably.

And Adrien could hardly admit it seemed like much to him! He himself wasn't being targeted: whatever command Miracle Queen gave that got all the stung temporary wielders under her control, it must not have included 'tell us everything Hawkmoth might find interesting'. How much does he hate that Ladybug is _right_ about not trusting one another or their allies with secrets like this? The former and, as far as Luka knows, never-again Snake Miraculous wielder probably isn't someone Hawkmoth cares about—except that Ladybug trusts Adrien, which might in itself be a hint of her identity. And Chat Noir, of course, doesn't want Hawkmoth capturing, torturing, or killing him on principle, mask or no.

"Quit monkeying around, Kim," snaps Chloé.

Adrien didn't hear whatever Kim said to Alix, but he can see the fear flash across Kim's face. Like he thinks it did Max's yesterday, when Markov asked how much longer something would take, and Chloé interrupted Max with "hold your horses"; Adrien isn't sure, because Max hid behind a textbook. Nino said something about staying home with Chris on Monday, Chloé said something about a house small enough to be a backpack, and Nino grabbed Alya's shoulder and left for the art room. Kagami didn't flinch when Chloé insulted her at the Gabriel Fashions function this weekend, but then, it's Kagami: possibly the only reason she didn't send Chloé to the hospital is Adrien was physically blocking all her angles of attack.

"Chloé," says Marinette—why is she trembling? the first thing Adrien ever saw Marinette do is stand up to (she thought) three bullies, Chloé leading; what changed?—"stop being a racist shithead."

"Marinette!" exclaims Mme. Bustier. "Language!"

Marinette winces, flushes, and mumbles something that sounds like an apology.

"You're certainly sorry," Chloé says.

For a moment, no one else says anything.

What would Ladybug do here? Adrien wonders. What would she want Adrien to do?

Find out what Chloé knows, probably. And get her to stop talking. It's _possible_ Hawkmoth didn't recognize any of the backup heroes' unmasked selves, but as every one of them has been akumatized at least once, it's unlikely—and Adrien doesn't think they know they got compromised.

(Thank all the Gods Marinette didn't.)

—And Adrien might have leverage on Chloé no one else has.

He paints friendly confusion onto his tone. "Aren't you going to apologize, Chloé?"

She blinks at him with wide-eyed innocence. "Whatever for, Adrikins?"

"Saying something racist?" Adrien prompts.

Chloé snorts. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, I almost believe you don't mean to be racist," Adrien says in perfect honesty. When Chloé begins to smile, he continues, "Thing is, Marinette thinks you do. Kim seems to agree. Kagami certainly thought you meant it. And every now and again, I spot a _pattern_."

(That pun is way too easy for when Ladybug is actually around.)

"Even if you don't mean to be," Adrien tells her, "you're being racist, and you need to stop."

"I would never dream of being racist," Chloé assures him. (Since he remembers what she said about Marinette's uncle last year, he doubts this.) "That would be awful, simply _awful_! You have to tell me what I'm doing." She bats her eyelashes. "So I can stop."

Okay, _ouch_. It continues not Adrien's fault he doesn't know things everyone else learned by growing up with more than five people around, and he's been trying to figure out how to learn everything everyone else can read from the faces in the room as if it were written on foreheads in elementary French. He hates having to ask, and she _knows_ this.

Chat Noir still has a job here. "You've been making these snide little animal-themed remarks about our classmates and Kagami all week. Not _all_ our classmates," Adrien points out. "Just the ones whose great-grandparents weren't all European." (He doesn't actually know that about Lila, but that's not the point. He does know it about Alix, who has more relatives on the Nile than the Seine, but he knows she's safe right now only because she _isn't_ , in past or present tense, Bunnyx.) "I haven't heard you go for Marinette or Alya yet. But maybe I just didn't _hear_ you."

Chloé's mouth hangs open for a moment. Then she recovers: "Dupain-Cheng isn't part of this. And Césaire needs better cosmetics if she wants to be foxy."

Marinette seizes Alya's hand, clinging white-knuckled and keeping Alya in her seat.

"Yes, let's leave out the one who looks white from a distance," says Adrien flatly. "I entirely believe you now when you say this isn't racist. And insulting Alya's appearance is a surefire way to win friends and influence people."

"Adrien!" says Mme. Bustier. Again, he belatedly realizes. Since getting in trouble with Principal Damocles is one of the better-case scenarios, he ignores her.

"The Slytherin is a white guy," Chloé tells Adrien, smirking. "Cute, too. But I don't know his name."

Adrien stares at her, furrowing his brow as though thinking furiously. He wants to make her say flat out what she means, but there are too many people. He had to do this in front of everyone, but not everyone listening is someone Ladybug trusts; even if Lila weren't here, not everyone listening is someone Ladybug has already trusted.

—But.

"So it would fit your current theme if I called you an interfering buzzybody?" Adrien asks.

Chloé rolls her eyes. "There's no need for such insults, Adrichou."

Adrien puts on his most sincere compliments voice. "That's right, you're always sweet as honey." He smiles, a pretty veneer. "I should bring you flowers."

She brightens. Adrien sees Max's eyes narrow, Kim's widen, and Alix's expression go still as stone, and he thinks, _Got her._

"Or maybe I shouldn't," Adrien tells her, letting his expression slide back to the cool fury it wants to show. "Since you just said you didn't recognize me."

Chloé gawks. " _What_?"

"Figure it out, Chloé." Adrien sinks back into his seat, unsure when he stood. He can hear Mylène whispering to Alix, phrases like _copycat_ and _not like him_. Well, he knows this isn't much like _Adrien_ , and if Ladybug hears he might be a doppelgänger akuma and swings by to check, all the better. "If you're going to threaten my friends, don't leave me out."

Chloé slams both her hands on his desk, rattling his tablet. " _What_ are you saying?"

Adrien stares up at her. "If it were a snake," he says, fingernails digging into his palms, "it would have bitten you."

She stumbles back a step, catching herself on her own desk and clutching at her heart. "You're lying," Chloé says, her breath coming faster. "You're not Viperion—you can't be! You're lying!"

"Surprised?" Adrien asks. She's brought it into the open. "Chloé, you just insinuated that—" He can't say several heroes are _here_ ; that will out them all to each other and Ladybug will strangle him. "—that Alya is Rena Rouge. Which is ridiculous," he has to point out. " _I_ certainly don't know why the first person Ladybug would trust as backup would be the Ladyblogger. But suppose Hawkmoth found out you think that."

Chloé snorts. Adrien, who already knows Hawkmoth knows, ignores the derision.

"Suppose he believed you," Adrien continues. "That makes Alya a high-value _target_. Because Hawkmoth probably thinks Rena Rouge knows who Ladybug is."

He cannot turn to see Alya's reaction, or Nino's. Bad enough he can see Marinette trying not to cry!

"Don't you want to know who Ladybug is?" Chloé asks, all innocence.

"If I knew who Ladybug is and she found out I knew," Adrien snaps, "she would skin me alive. Three different ways, just for variety. I am not that curious, Chloé. I _am_ worried for Alya. And not just Alya, either!" Mylène has already caught on, Adrien thinks: she's on Ivan's bench now. "Her parents. Her sisters. Her boyfriend and _his_ family. And _all her friends_."

Max and Kim look at each other. Rose clings to Juleka. Lila sucks in a breath.

"So, everyone in this class," Adrien says. "Except maybe Sabrina, because I think you're her only friend around here. And—"

He braces himself with the memory of Ladybug asking Chat Noir to meet her, not even a month ago, for no apparent reason except to lean on his shoulder and watch the sunset.

"—And except for you," Adrien says. "Because if you're going to hate Alya so much you'll claim she's Rena Rouge when you _know_ that puts her and everyone she cares about right in Hawkmoth's line of fire, then you're also going to make sure Hawkmoth knows I'm Viperion."

"But you're not," Chloé repeats, shaking her head.

Adrien snorts, mirroring her derision. "If you say so."

"—Why would you think he'll hurt their friends?" asks Sabrina, leaning around Chloé. She's trembling.

"Why wouldn't I?" Adrien asks her. "He went after Queen Bee's family. I'm not sure why he hasn't gone after you."

Sabrina, who knows as well as Adrien does that Hawkmoth _has_ , quietly starts to collect her things.

"So—" Chloé begins, tears shimmering unshed, and tries again: "So you're threatening me with the same thing you say I'm threatening them with."

"I'm really not," Adrien says in complete honesty, as Sabrina slips into Mylène's vacated seat. He wishes he could hold Plagg right now, or Ladybug. Since the unmasked Ladybug is probably in one of the other classes and Tikki is far more Plagg's partner than Ladybug is Chat Noir's, he isn't even certain Plagg is in the room. " _You_ should be safe, Chloé."

He knew this was coming the moment she went for Max yesterday—the moment he caught the pattern—but this is still the hardest part.

"Since Sabrina just changed seats," Adrien tells Chloé, "it looks like you have no friends here at all."

She whips her head around. Falls onto the empty bench. Turns to stare in horror at Adrien.

Ladybug needs him to be strong. Adrien, stony, stares back.

"Why are you doing this?" Chloé whispers. "Adrien—we promised!"

"I know," Adrien answers. "Friends forever." That hurts, too. "I knew that was going to bite me the first time someone I wanted to be friends with thought I wouldn't be worth her time because I had you." Chloé _knows_ he has trouble breaking promises.

But she's broken a few to him. And he's made some more important ones.

"You wouldn't be here without Ladybug," he reminds her, remembering the way Ladybug's eyes lit up that day. "You would have gone splat on the pavement at Tour Eiffel, not even an hour after you started scaring off all my new friends. I feel like telling people our classmates are Ladybug's team, when you know it doesn't have to be true to hurt them, is a shitty way to thank her."

He isn't even sure Chloé heard him.

"Adrien?" ventures Mme. Bustier.

—He can't be here right now. Even if he didn't need to warn Ladybug—

Adrien grabs his bag and tablet and stands. "If nobody minds," he lies, hearing how much less forceful he sounds, catching a glimpse of Marinette's pale and tear-streaked face, "I'm going to go be sick."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Dreamwidth](https://alexseanchai.dreamwidth.org/) and [Tumblr](https://alexseanchai.tumblr.com/).


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